


Semiosis

by itsaviciouslittleworld



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: AU, Advertising, Businessman Levi (Shingeki no Kyojin), Creative agency, Frustrated Levi (Shingeki no Kyojin), M/M, Masturbation, Nonbinary Hange Zoë, Not Even a Kiss, Pining, Probably Slow Build, Sexual Fantasy, Sexually Frustrated Levi, Student Eren Yeager, Teacher Levi (Shingeki no Kyojin), Teacher-Student Relationship, alternative universe, but it's just a flirt, it's literally nothing, levixfloch, no levixfloch smut, past thug levi, so much pining it's almost ridicolous, very bloody emotionally unavailable Levi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-06
Updated: 2020-09-19
Packaged: 2021-03-01 05:47:50
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 16,613
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23346427
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/itsaviciouslittleworld/pseuds/itsaviciouslittleworld
Summary: In which Eren is an Advertising student who has been placed in the wrong class.✴“Are you okay?”Eren sighed and nodded before stopping in the middle of the hallway.“Guys…”, he sighed, “I want Mr Ackerman to fuck me on that desk until he breaks my back.”
Relationships: Levi & Eren Yeager, Levi/Eren Yeager
Comments: 162
Kudos: 433





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> ... I should really stop starting fanfics.
> 
> This story has been inspired by one of my uni lecturers, who is completely obsessed with Semiotics. 
> 
> All information regarding advertising practices found in this story are 100% correct, brought to you by yours truly, who just got her degree in PR and Advertising.
> 
> This is my attempt to create a nice, long story. Whilst I'm quite happy with my other stories, I do feel like I sometimes rush things a little, so this fic is my little experiment.
> 
> Finally, a little note for those who might not know: in advertising, a creative is someone who physically makes the adverts, by interpreting the concept that the strategy team has come up with. 
> 
> Alright, let's go. x

“What the fuck?!” Eren shouted as he zoomed on his screen to make sure he was reading his new schedule right, “Semiotics? I didn’t sign up for this class.”

Eren sat up straight on his bed, groaning loudly. His third year at uni was already starting on the wrong foot. Eren grabbed his phone, and with a sigh, he took a screenshot of the email, before sending it on his WhatsApp group with Armin and Mikasa.

**Eren**

_Guys, guys, guys. WTF? I signed up for Advanced Graphic Design. what the hell is Semiotics?!_

**Armin**

_Oh! that’s the optional module I signed up for. Maybe it’s a mistake, you should go to the Registry and ask._

**Mikasa**

_I signed up for that too._

Eren huffed and fell back onto the bed. He was already dreading going back to uni, now he had to go in earlier because he was placed in the wrong class? He had planned everything out perfectly, he was going to focus on graphic design and better himself as a creative before graduating. Studying advertising, he had been trained in every aspect of that profession, but soon enough, he had realised his calling was in the creative department. He didn’t care for strategy, researching or media planning. He wanted to create stuff, to turn a concept into reality and to convey a message through art. And now, with a dissertation to write, a final project to work on, and an elective class he couldn’t care less, how was he supposed to do that?

“Fuck this.”

  
  


✴

  
  


Eren grudgingly dragged his feet into the class, sided by his sister and his best friend. At least, he was glad he wasn’t going to be surrounded by people he didn’t know. Still, it fucking sucked. He let himself go on a chair with a loud sigh of annoyance.

“So, was it a mistake?” Armin asked as he sat next to him at the back of the class.

Eren rolled his eyes up and huffed, crossing his arms.

“Yeah. Well, apparently they accidentally put my name down for this class, while another guy was placed in my Advanced Graph. They’ll sort it out, but it’s going to take a couple of weeks, they said, because apparently that prick went to class and enjoyed it, and now he wants to stay there.”

“That doesn’t seem fair”, Mikasa noted while she took her laptop out of her bag and placed it onto the table.

“Tell me about it”, Eren sighed, “I still have no clue what Semiotics is.”

“It’s the study of signs and symbols”, Armin explained, making Eren widen his eyes and groan dramatically.

“How is that even useful for us? Now that I think of it, why did you two sign up for this?”

Armin and Mikasa both shrugged.

“It just sounded like something nice and easy to do. We’re in our final year, the workload is going to be terrible as it is, I didn’t want to add more stress to my life.”

Armin did have a point. But then again, they had plenty of mandatory classes on strategic thinking and campaign execution, all things that were right up Armin’s and Mikasa’s alley, while they had only had a couple of modules on creative work and a bunch of InDesign and Photoshop classes sporadically. That year was supposed to be Eren’s last chance to really improve in what he did best. 

“Why am I always so unlucky?” Eren complained, sliding on his chair even lower, not even bothering to get his notepad out. It wasn’t worth it, he wasn’t going to be there long.

As all the students gathered inside the class, Eren noted there were at least fifty students in the room; quite a big number for an optional module. Why would all these people want to sit through a three-hour lecture listening to some old fart talk about symbols? It sounded like some crap you’d find in a Dan Brown’s book.

At that moment, a man walked into the room. He ungracefully dropped his bag onto the desk and turned the smartboard on. Silence fell on the room, and Eren looked around awkwardly. He didn’t understand why everyone had suddenly stopped talking, and were now all looking at the man who had just entered the room. Eren couldn’t see the man properly, as the man was giving them his back, but as the man turned around, Eren’s heart almost missed a beat. The guy standing behind the desk was, well, short. But his _face_ , oh. That man was one of the most attractive men Eren had ever laid his eyes on. His jawline was so sharp, diamonds could have been cut out with it. His lips were thin, kept in a slight disinterested stiff upper lip, which went perfectly with the overall unbothered demeanour the man was portraying. But what hit Eren the most were the glacial grey eyes that were now scanning the class, almost as if the man was trying to memorise every single face. When his intense gaze briefly stumbled on Eren, he felt his face go red, he couldn’t help but distractedly bite his bottom lip.

“Morning. I’m Levi Ackerman, I’m your lecturer for this class.”

Eren almost moaned at the sound of the man’s voice; it was low and controlled, just overbearingly sensual. At least, Eren thought so. 

“Some of you are here because you see this class as a way to get easy credits in your last year. Some of you are here because they’re trying to impress me and get an internship at my agency”, the man continued, moving around the desk and in front of the class. 

“Well”, the man continued as he suddenly frowned and the end of his lips slowly curved in a sardonic smirk, “Tough shit.”

Eren almost choked at those words. First and foremost, who the hell was this man? 

“... Because in this class, you will work your ass off or else I won’t have any problems failing you, and you can kiss your summer of lame hangovers and lousy sex goodbye.”

The whole class let out a quiet gasp, everyone except Eren, who was sneakily googling Levi’s name under the desk. His eyes almost fell out of his head as hundreds of articles popped up on his screen. 

_Levi Ackerman: Creative Director of the Year 2017_

_Creative Director’s Choice: WOF’s Levi Ackerman on Amazon Super Bowl Commercial 2019_

_Squad Levi strikes again: Behind the Scenes of the new Guinness Advert_

  
  


“Holy shit…”, Eren murmured. He knew of WOF agency, all his lecturers had drilled into their heads that getting an internship there was the ultimate goal; he still remembered their first-year trip to the agency, how he had wandered around in awe as they had walked into the creative department while a nice red-headed girl talked about their most famous adverts and the process behind the creation of each one. The class had been introduced to some of the advertisers that day, but Eren did not remember seeing Levi Ackerman. But the man was an absolute legend, Eren would have killed to get an internship with him. Being a creative director was his dream, after all. Why Levi Ackerman was teaching a Semiotics class at his university was still a mystery, however. What did Semiotics have anything to do with advertising?

Eren hadn’t realised how much he had drifted away and when exactly he had stopped listening to the man, until the reason of his inattention stood right in front of him, arms crossed and glaring at him as if he was planning all the gruesome ways with which he was going to end his life. Eren slowly lifted his eyes up and forced an innocent smile, which only seemed to piss Mr Ackerman even more. The man swiftly snatched the phone away from Eren’s hand.

“What’s your name?” Levi asked with a demanding tone, his cold demeanour was betrayed by a twitchy eyebrow as if the man was about to explode in anger.

Eren swallowed thickly.

“Eren.”

“Eren, what?”

“Eren Jaeger.”

Levi clenched his jaw, and Eren could feel the eyes of every single person on himself, Armin’s and Mikasa’s included.

“Eren Jaeger… Tell me, do you hate yourself?”

Eren blinked a couple of times, not sure he had heard right and how to answer that question. Levi’s eyes didn’t waver, still waiting for an answer.

“Huh… Not particularly, sir.”

Levi nodded, apparently happy with his answer. Then, he gently placed both hands onto Eren’s desk and lowered down so that they were face to face. Eren felt a shiver running down his spine as he struggled to keep eye contact with that terrifying and gorgeous man.

“Then why…”, Levi dragged his words, and despite the incredibly uncomfortable situation, Eren couldn’t help but admire the man’s eyes, “... Are you trying to piss me off?” Levi growled at him.

Eren sucked air and stared blankly at the man, not knowing how to reply to that. Then, he sighed. He had always been a blunt person, and the man already looked fed up with him as it was, being honest wasn’t going to make things any worse.

“Honestly, sir, I had no idea who you were. So I googled you. I apologise, I didn’t mean to disrespect you.”

Levi’s expression was not affected by his words; however, Eren was fairly sure there was a hint of surprise in his eyes. 

“So, you must be one of those fuckers who are here only for the credits, correct?” Levi said as he straightened up, crossing his arms and shifting his weight on the left, suddenly looking much less worked up.

Eren couldn’t help but notice that the man seemed to put a swear word every few sentences, and for some reasons, it was rather exhilarating. Not to mention that the man somewhat looked even sexier when he got angry. Which was something Eren shouldn’t have been thinking about while he was being told off, and yet he couldn’t stop thinking about how much he would have liked to hear that harsh tone in bed, commanding him to suck his dick off.

“No, sir”, Eren said, earning a tilt of the head from Levi, “I actually applied for a different class and was placed here by mistake. I am going to switch classes in two weeks.”

Levi clearly did not expect that answer, but if he was upset or annoyed, it didn’t show on his face. 

“So, you don’t care about Semiotics?” Levi continued.

Eren shrugged.

“It’s just not pertinent to what I want to specialise in.”

“Which is?”

Whilst Eren’s body might have enjoyed Levi’s strict eyes on him, Eren was starting to feel as if he was under scrutiny, with the man asking so many questions.

“I want to be a creative. Make adverts and such.”

Levi scoffed and smirked again, his face suddenly looking much more relaxed.

“Then, you’re in the right class, brat.”

Levi turned on his heels and headed back to the computer connected to the board before opening a PowerPoint.

  
  


**What is Semiotics?**

“Let’s all thank Eren Jaeger, as he just gave me the perfect opportunity to explain to you why you little shits need to know about Semiotics. I’m keeping this til the end of the class, by the way”, Levi said, waving Eren’s phone in front of his face, before dropping it on the desk, once again, not with much grace.

“Semiotics is the study of the production and interpretation of signs. This also includes the analysis of the systems of communication. Language, gestures, clothes, even clothing.”

Levi changed slides.

“So, why is Semiotics important for branding, and especially for creatives?”, Levi tilted his head, glancing at Eren, before turning back to the board, “The traditional method is okay. You research a target market, you identify what their behaviour is, and you come up with a campaign that can appeal to them. Except that, that is all bollocks. No matter how hard we try to fit people into generalised clusters, each individual is different. And that’s how you get a tacky, expensive advert. The consumers don’t buy the product, the client gets all up your ass about it, you lose your job and become a miserable loser, you then become an alcoholic with not a single penny in your name.”

Levi turned around, sifting through the expression of his students; every single one of them was hanging from his lips, Eren included.

“But. Semiotics analyses the symbols within a culture and uncover the underlying cultural triggers for those symbols. These symbols have the same meaning for everyone within that culture. Example.”

Levi stepped once again in front of his desk and leaned against it.

“What do you think about when I say the colour green?”

A slight murmur soured from the students, but nobody dared to speak. Levi rolled his eyes and let out a loud groan.

“Come on, you wankers. I don’t bite… Not yet, anyway.”

Eren looked around, and when he realised nobody was going to speak, he hesitantly raised his hand. Levi’s eyes shot straight to him.

“Jaeger?”

“Huh… Nature, health, environment.”

Eren was not sure if his answer was correct, but when Levi nodded, he suddenly felt a sense of pride and smugness invading his whole being. Getting a slight hint of approval from Mr Ackerman was easily the best feeling ever.

“Exactly. In fact, if you pay attention, anytime a product is supposed to be healthy or environmentally-friendly, the advert will include green tones because green conveys exactly that message. Wherever you are, whoever you are, you will get it. And if a brand embraces Semiotics well, that brand itself can become a cultural symbol as well, easily recognised by everyone. Case in point, what brand do you think about when I say red?”

This time, Eren raised his hand more confidently, even showing a little smile. Levi didn’t call his name again, but he pointed at him with his finger.

“Coca Cola?” Eren asked, suddenly realising that he didn’t really have to think that hard to make that connection.

Levi grinned and clicked his tongue.

“Bingo.”

  
  


✴

  
  


By the end of the lecture, Levi had captivated each and every single one of them with his harsh, yet smooth teaching. Eren wasn’t so sure anymore he wanted to switch modules. He had entered that thinking it was going to be an absolute waste of two weeks; instead, the lecture had been so incredibly intriguing. Certainly, having a man like Levi teaching him, Eren’s interest had immediately shot through the roof.

As he made his way out of the class, Levi stopped him.

“Oi.”

Eren’s heart accelerated as he turned around to face the man, who was now sitting comfortably in his chair. Levi took his phone and handed it to him, his uninterested expression back on his face.

“Oh… Right! Thank you, Mr Ackerman.”

“If I ever see you with your phone again in my class, I will end your life”, Levi said warningly.

“Of course… Sorry, again.”

Eren quite literally ran out of the class, and he was quickly followed by Armin and Mikasa.

“That was great. But damn, Eren, I thought Mr Ackerman was going to kill you when he found you with your phone. I heard he’s quite serious about that kind of stuff.”

When Eren didn’t respond, Mikasa placed a hand on his shoulder, worried that her brother was still traumatised by what had happened.

“Are you okay?”

Eren sighed and nodded before stopping in the middle of the hallway.

“Guys…”, he sighed, “I want Mr Ackerman to fuck me on that desk until he breaks my back.”

“You are disgusting, Eren”, Armin sighed, smacking him on the back of his head.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 2 a day early, because why not.
> 
> Happy reading. x

After getting back home from his first Semiotics class, Eren had spent the whole evening searching Levi, googling him, stalking him on social media, and _holy crap_ , the man was a star in the advertising world. But what caught his attention more than anything was an article from OUT, an LGBTQ+ magazine, dedicated to Levi Ackerman and the campaign his team had created for Pride Month. As he quickly scrolled through the material, his eyes widened when a half-naked picture of Mr Ackerman popped up halfway through. He was bare-chested, wearing a pair of incredibly thin white briefs that didn’t leave much to the imagination. He was leaning against a wall, an arm lifted above his head and lazily placed on top of it, while his neck was tilted ever so slightly, revealing the sharp and sensual curves of his throat. Eren allowed himself to let his gaze wander on the toned abdomen and his chiselled chest, his perky biceps and the v-line. And if that view wasn’t enough, as soon as Eren shifted his eyes to Levi’s face, those icy blue eyes sent a shiver all the way down his spine, as a pool of heat started forming between his legs. He bit his bottom lip and squeezed his thigh together. Levi looked a little younger in that picture, which was also confirmed in the article, as Eren read that the man was a model in his twenties. 

By dinnertime, Eren knew that: Levi was bisexual and proud, he had a killer body, and he was possibly the coolest man Eren had ever met. 

“Eren, shall we eat? I’m starving”, Mikasa shouted from outside the door of his dorm.

“Coming!” 

Eren sighed, and just before leaving the room, he quickly looked Levi’s name up on Twitter and started following him. He had never been a fan of the app. Still, his lecturers in the first year had said it was important to have it in his line of work, in order to follow journalists, PR practitioners, and other advertisers. It was not suspicious; besides, there was no chance Levi would have followed him back.

  
  


✴

  
  


His second Semiotics lecture had been something else. Levi was one of the best teachers Eren had ever had; he was so clear and thorough with everything he talked about. Semiotics was much more complicated and intriguing than Eren had predicted, although Levi’s extraordinary speaking skills were playing a huge factor in his understanding of the subject; to be fair, the man could have made algebra sound interesting with that low, soothing voice of his.

However, the man also had one of the worst tempers Eren had ever seen. He was so short-fused, anytime he caught someone doing something they weren’t supposed to be doing, he would lash out at them in the most peculiar way. The thing was, Mr Ackerman didn’t scream, no. When a student behaved in a way that wasn’t included in _Levi’s book of good manners_ , he would get really close to them, and destroy them piece by piece with cutting words and an unhealthy dose of sarcasm. Quite similar to the way he had handled Eren’s phone situation, in fact. 

Annoying Levi was dangerous, as the man would not just ask the class to be quiet if some people in the class were chattering; instead, he would individuate each individual and roast the shit out of them. Even though the man could be absolutely terrifying, watching him telling off students was also hilarious. It was no surprise that the man had made it that far in his career, with a tongue like his and his absolute don’t-give-a-fuck attitude.

By the end of the lecture, Eren had decided he was not going to change modules, so after the lecture had ended, he excused himself from his friends and headed to the Registry. 

As he walked in, the familiar face of Rico Brzenska peeped from the mountains of papers and forms stacked on the desk. 

“Oh, Eren, hi”, she waved a hand at him distractedly, without even taking his eyes off her computer. With a mess like that, it was no surprise his application had been misplaced. 

Eren dropped his bag on the floor and sat down, waiting patiently for her to finish whatever she was doing. That took a good ten minutes. 

“Sorry, September is always a mess”, she sighed as she finally gave him her attention, “The lecturer in Advanced Graphic Designer agreed to allow you space in his class. This is unusual, of course, but given the hassle, we put you through and your academic record, he was rather happy to have you.”

Eren bit his bottom lip nervously and trapped his hands between his thighs.

“Hum… Actually, I was thinking of staying in the Semiotics class, if that’s alright? I’m sorry, I know you went through a lot trying to get me in Advanced Graph, but…”

Rico shrugged, smiling at him.

“Oh, don’t worry about it. It’s less bureaucracy for me. But the Advanced Graph lecturer seemed very keen on having you there. Apparently, he asked your module leader about you, and she showed him one of your mock adverts from last year. He was quite impressed. But I understand, Mr Ackerman seems to have that effect on people. All the students that have gone through his class have said he is the worst and best teacher they’ve ever had. Besides, you might want to try and score an internship with him.”

Eren laughed at that statement; he wasn’t surprised. Levi might have been rough on the edges, but he was good teacher material.

“Hey…”, Eren said, scratching the back of his neck nervously, “I’m not sure this is public information, but… Is he a guest lecturer, then? I know he is the creative director at WOF, so why is he here for a whole semester, teaching Semiotics?”

Rico hummed.

“He’s been teaching that class for over five years now. The university is very proud; Ackerman is a very busy man, but he spares a day a week from September to December, teaching this class. Semiotics is his passion, apparently. I believe he’s even got a PhD on the subject, and his study was published.”

Eren was shocked, hearing that information. Who the hell was this man? He was cultured, he had a dream job, he was hot as fuck and a personality that made Eren’s whole essence tremble in anticipation. Perhaps the last one was only individual to him, he had always had a weakness for strong, rough men. Levi just ticked all his boxes. 

“I see. As I said, I think I’ll stick with his class. Thank you so much, Ms Brzenska.”

  
  


✴

  
  


The week after, Eren had dragged Armin and Mikasa to the front desks, ignoring their whining. Eren just really, really needed to be as close to Mr Ackerman as possible, there was no discussion on the matter.

As Levi walked in, Eren immediately noticed he was wearing glasses. He bit his bottom lip, realising how close he was actually going to be when the man started wandering around during the lecture. Maybe that wasn’t such a good idea, Eren could already feel his jeans getting tighter and tighter. With a sigh, he crossed his legs to contain the potential damage.

“Alright, you little shits”, Levi groaned as he dropped his bag on the desk, as he sat on top of it, “This morning I woke up, and to my dismay, I realised that I was out of tea. Now, _before you even think that_ the tea at the coffee shop here is terrible. Which means I’m missing my dose of theanine for the day. Which means, if you piss me off today, I might _actually_ kill you. So do not-”

Levi interrupted mid-sentence as his eyes met Eren’s. The man frowned imperceptibly and seemed to have lost his train of thoughts. Eren smiled at him a little.

“... Anyway, just shut up. Okay? Cool. Now, today we’re going to have a look at some campaigns, and your bratty selves will analyse all the symbols you can find. Groups of three, chop-chop. I ain’t got all day. This exercise will weigh on your attendance grade, so take it seriously.”

The class went on smoothly, all the students seemed to take Levi’s death threats fairly seriously, and for the first time in three weeks, nobody got on Levi’s bad side. Armin, Mikasa and him did a pretty good job during the exercise, even earning a nod of the head from the teacher. Eren had no doubt that staying in that class had been the best decision of his entire academic career.

At the end of the class, Mr Ackerman signalled him to stay put. Confused, Eren leaned against the wall as he patiently waited for all the students to walk out of the class until the last one closed the door behind them.

Levi was sitting on his chair, as he always did after his class was finished. Eren had no idea what he wanted to talk to him about, but his body was agitated and somewhat excited. Honestly, he had no chill around that man.

“You didn’t switch modules?” Levi finally asked, leaning back and looking at him. 

“No, sir. I realised this class could be really useful to me.”

“Hm. I see. You do know I don’t give away internships, right? Cause if that’s why you’re here, you’re wasting your time. There is no way in hell you’ll ever impress me enough to even consider you. Nobody ever does.”

Eren was a little taken aback by Levi’s assumption that he had decided to stay in his class only to try his luck with the man for placement at his agency. Of course, an internship at WOF would have been the absolute dream, especially in his last year of uni, but that wasn’t the reason why he had decided to take up Semiotics. Levi being an absolute dream of a man, had played some weight on his decision, but Eren did genuinely enjoy the lectures.

“I’m not here for an internship opportunity.”

Levi tilted his head and scoffed, crossing his arms over his chest. Being so close to the man, Eren noticed that Levi’s eyes looked tired, and little dark bags surrounded his eyes. He wondered if he slept well enough; certainly, his job kept him up for long hours and had a hectic life. Eren wondered if it was weird for him to want to tuck Levi into bed and cuddle him until he fell asleep. Definitely weird.

“Oh, are you saying you don’t care about an internship at WOF?”

Eren was shaken away from his thoughts when Levi looked at him with a deadly serious expression, almost looking annoyed. Eren’s heart threatened to jump out of his chest, as the guy waved his hands in front of him and blushed.

“N-no, I mean, yes. I mean, I would very much like to get an internship there- WOF is, like, the dream. I just meant that I’m not trying to take advantage of you- I mean, that sounded weird- What I mean is…”

Eren stopped his stuttering when he realised that Levi had brought a hand to his face and was snickering uncontrollably. 

“Relax, kid. I’m just messing with ya”, Levi shook his head condescendingly, and Eren couldn’t help but feel embarrassed. He was usually quite confident and a little smug at times, but Mr Ackerman turned him into a bit of a kid. It was now evident to him that he was developing a massive crush on that man, but even then, Eren had no problems teasing and flirting with the guys he was interested in. But Levi wasn’t only his teacher, he was also older than him, and Eren felt intimidated. He doubted that pouting and childish seduction strategies would do much good with a man of Levi's calibre. And still, Eren found himself pouting.

“That’s so mean, _sir_ ”, Eren let that last word roll onto his tongue mellifluously. 

“Oh, is it?” Levi cooed sarcastically.

Eren nodded and crossed his arms as well, mimicking Levi, but he was now smiling a little.

“It is, but I guess I’ll forgive you, just this one time.”

“Right, _you’re_ forgiving _me_. How adorable. Remember you’re still on my black book for using the phone in my class.”

Eren opened his mouth in slight disbelief.

“I was looking you up! You should be flattered, really. And I wasn’t done with my googling when you took my phone away, I had to continue at home.”

Levi’s smile grew a little, suddenly looking intriguing by what his student had just revealed to him.

“Is that so? And what did you find out?”, the man suddenly stood up, just to lean against his desk, right in front of Eren, looking at him with those grey eyes that drove Eren insane.

Eren found himself blushing as he bit his bottom lip, trying to collect his thoughts and not do anything impulsive that would potentially get him expelled.

“That whoever photoshopped those abs on your pictures should be given a raise, that was a stunning job.”

Eren widened his eyes, in disbelief with himself, he couldn't believe he had just commented on his lecturer’s body, but those pictures were imprinted in his mind and threatened to never leave. The guy observed how Mr Ackerman’s eyebrows lowered beautifully, drawing an upset expression on his face that only made him look more attractive. Aah, Eren was utterly fucked.

“Ex-fucking-cuse me, that was all mine.”

“Was?”

“Is.”

Eren hummed, suddenly feeling more relaxed around the man. However, if anyone had walked in on them at that moment, they would have probably thought they were being utterly inappropriate with each other. If it had been a college student, Eren would have thought they were flirting; but Levi wasn’t a kid, and he wasn’t a proper lecturer either, he was a grown-ass man with a huge ego, who did not worry about swearing in class and using rather unorthodox methods. Eren should have really taken that teasing with a pinch of salt, but he couldn’t help himself. Levi was too hot for his own good, and Eren was only human. 

“Well… Congratulations, then. Why did you stop modelling?”

Eren wondered if Levi would be annoyed by his curiosity, but the man seemed perfectly fine, he just shrugged.

“It was never a long-term career. I just needed to pay rent in college, and it was better than serving tables.”

Eren laughed softly, he understood that perfectly.

“Tell me about it, I worked as a waiter through my first and second year, it was an absolute nightmare. The number of Karens I had to deal with. Thankfully, my website got quite popular, and now I earn some good money with my freelance work. It made my life so much easier.”

“Freelance work, huh? Not bad for an undergraduate. Most people need some experience in the field before even considering self-employment.”

Eren blushed and touched the back of his head nervously. He sort of hated how that man made him feel, making him crave his slightest attention and compliments. Everyone wanted to please their teachers, but Eren just wanted Levi to keep looking at him.

“Oh, it’s nothing like that… I don’t charge an excessive amount, I don’t have the qualifications to do it. It’s just some extra pennies.”

Levi’s gaze was intense, as he didn’t respond to his last comment. Eren gulped imperceptibly until Levi checked the time on his phone and jumped.

“Fuck-, I need to dash. Alright, I’ll see you next week. Keep up the good work, Eren.”

And just like that, Levi was out of the door. He always looked like he was in a rush.

Eren sighed as he grabbed his bag and also made his way out of the door, hoping he'd still be on time to catch the train before rush hour. He couldn’t stop thinking about how insanely hot Levi was. Knowing that his lecturer was also interested in men didn’t make it any easier. But Levi surely had a partner, a man like that couldn’t possibly be single. Or maybe he was so busy and career-driven, that he didn’t have time for a relationship. Either way, Eren didn’t have a chance with the man, without mentioning the fact that Levi was also entirely out of his league. Eren wasn’t insecure, quite the opposite. He knew he was attractive, the fact was confirmed any time he, Armin and Mikasa went out, and he got looked at, catcalled and in some unfortunate times, even groped. But Levi belonged to another level of perfection, Eren didn’t think he could ever be in. As depressing as it sounded, he knew it too well.

  
  


✴

  
  


As he got home, Eren immediately noticed Armin and Mikasa at the kitchen table. Instead of heading straight to his room, he grabbed three beers from the fridge and placed them on the table, before sitting down as well. He grabbed one of the bottles and popped it open, immediately followed by the other two.

“What did Mr Ackerman want?” Armin asked.

“He was just asking me why I decided to stay in his class.”

Mikasa raised an eyebrow.

“As in… He was disappointed?”

“No, quite the opposite, actually… He seemed quite pleased.”

Eren got his phone out, and his stomach made a double flip as he read the notification on his screen. Levi had just followed him back on Twitter. There was no need to panic; in their field, it was common to follow each other, it was not weird in any way. But did Levi follow his students back all the time?

“Guys… Do you follow Levi on Twitter?”

“Of course”, Armin said.

“I only created an account to follow journalists and agencies, so naturally…”, Mikasa also confirmed.

“And… Did he follow you back?”

Armin let out a soft laugh, shaking his head as if Eren had just said the dumbest thing ever.

“Obviously not. Hotshots like him don’t follow back.”

Mikasa eyed at Eren clutching his phone in one hand, and noticed how excited he looked.

“Eren… Did Mr Ackerman follow you on Twitter?”

Eren nodded and turned the screen towards his friends.

“Oh, wow”, Armin murmured, genuinely surprised.

Eren turned his phone back and looked at Levi’s name on the screen. Admittedly, it was nothing. He had made quite an impression with his teacher on the very first day of class, and they had talked a little that day. Levi probably recognised his name. It was not a big deal. It was nothing.

Was it?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for getting this far. x
> 
> If you liked the chapter, feel free to leave a comment or a kudos. x
> 
> See you next week!


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Y'all ready for sexually frustrated Levi?

When Levi stepped into the office, it was way past 4 pm; he was supposed to be there an hour prior. Erwin, who was standing behind Eld’s on the laptop, lifted his head up and opened his mouth to greet him.

“I know, I know”, Levi scoffed, “I’m late. I got caught up at the university.”

Erwin smiled at him and raised one of his incredibly bushy eyebrows, seemingly not bothered about Levi’s delay.

“It’s okay, relax. Hange is looking for you, though.”

Levi couldn't help but roll his eyes as he groaned and headed towards the kitchen, rather than his office. He needed his fucking tea if he wanted to get through the end of the day; besides, he didn’t feel like locking himself up in his office just yet. So after preparing the liquorice tea that he had been obsessing over for the past month, he sat down on one of the big wooden tables and opened his laptop.

Their office was undoubtedly artsy; it was one of those big old factories that had been completely restructured and turned into a semi-open space, the kind that millennials seemed to like so much. Levi, of course, had his own office because, well, he couldn’t stand working surrounded by people, and _dogs_ . Their workspace allowed animals, and therefore countless employees would bring their pets to the office. It’s not that the man hated animals, _per se_ ; however, he wasn’t particularly fond of dogs. They were always running around, trying to get him to play catching ball, they shed, and they sort of stank. Now cats, he could deal with. Cats were calm, they minded their own businesses, they scratched only when bothered, and most importantly, they self-cleaned. If he could have borne the idea of sharing his personal space at all, he would have got a cat. But, he was a self-absorbed bastard who needed his space, and he could not bear having someone invade his side of the bed because he was a selfish, apathetic asshole. At least, those were the last words his former lover had said, no, shouted at him as he cried and packed the small number of items Levi had allowed him to bring over the few months they had been sleeping together. Levi hadn’t bothered to reply, he had kept working on his laptop while the guy hysterically screamed at him to listen for once in his life. He hadn’t seen him since. Did he miss him? Not particularly. His ex-lover was clingy and needy, and Levi didn’t have time for cheesy shit like that. He had a job, a very important one, and all he wanted to do when he got home after a long day was to eat, bone and have a shower by himself. He didn’t need to talk about his day, he didn’t need to cuddle. 

However, he did miss two things about his ex: his ass and his mouth. Levi had never wanted a life partner, he just wanted someone to have fun with and release some stress from work. He had never asked the man to be his boyfriend, the guy had just sort of assumed after a while. And Levi hadn’t bothered to clarify where he stood, that all he wanted was sex, and perhaps it was just convenient that his ex would always be at home when he came back, waiting for him like a puppy and taking his cock whenever Levi pleased.

Levi wasn’t a selfish lover. He fucked hard, and he fucked good. But he liked rough sex, the hair-pulling, the scratching, the biting, the teasing and the dirty talking. Most of his conquests enjoyed it at first, being called a slut by Levi while he pounded into them from behind while holding their hair. They all loved it at the beginning, because Levi was a great lover, and he knew how to take good care of someone sexually, and drive them insane until they were a panting mess under him. But then all the shitty feelings came, the attachment, sometimes even one-sided love. And all of a sudden, they didn’t want to be called dirty names, because lovers call each other _love, baby, beautiful_. They didn’t want it rough, because love-making should be sweet and gentle. They didn’t want to be treated like sluts, because they expected Levi to treat them like a partner. So eventually, they were left broken-hearted when they realised Levi was never going to give them that.

Now, his ex was gone too, and Levi simply didn’t have the time to go out and find someone to screw for the night. He was just too busy, and as a result of that, he'd had blue balls for the past month. He blamed his condition for making him look at his student in a way he shouldn’t have. Eren had caught his attention from the very first day, when he had stared into the biggest fucking green eyes he had ever seen, his plump mouth that would have looked so pretty around his cock, and his messy long hair that Levi would have loved to pull to make Eren’s back arch. Even when he was telling him off for using his phone in his class, Levi couldn’t help but picture himself pinning Eren against the mattress and doing unspeakable things to him. Discovering that the guy also had an insanely hot body too hadn’t helped in the slightest. Eren was tall and, boy, did Levi like a tall man. It was just hilarious to see how tall people thought they could intimidate him for his height, and then be reduced to whores in bed. Levi had a theory that tall people were, deep down, all a little slutty. God, he hoped Eren was too, because he would have loved to spank his round ass and call him that. 

It was bad.

But Levi was not about to get involved with a student. It wasn’t just the fact that younger guys were a lot more work, with all their partying and their whining; it was also a matter of ethics. Levi might have been a huge dick, but he knew right from wrong. Fucking a student from his class was wrong. What would have he done when it came the time to grade him, what if he was doing poorly in his class and he expected Levi to boost his grades just because he sucked his dick at night? Levi was never going to do that, and then Eren would have got mad at him, maybe report him to the university. He would have lost his teaching position, and that was out of the question. Even though he was just a guest lecturer who only taught for the first semester of the year, once a week, he weirdly enjoyed it. He was incredibly passionate about his module, and in some way, he loved seeing those stupid bratty faces actually be interested in what he was saying, as if he had just revealed the secret of immortality to them. It boosted his ego like nothing else, and only god knew how much Levi liked to have his ego stroked. Sue him.

With a sigh, Levi opened Twitter on his laptop and noticed that Eren had followed him. He smirked a little, opening the student’s profile. His picture was a photo of him at some art show, he was standing in front of a Renaissance painting, all dressed up nicely. It was the perfect _I’m a professional and an artist_ picture. With a little grin, Levi followed him back because, why the hell not.

Levi’s eyes skimmed the bio section and found a link to Eren’s website that the student had mentioned to him earlier that day. As he opened the link, Eren’s full name appeared on top of the page in a nice font. Underneath, there was a ‘request work’ button. As Levi scrolled through, and he realised that, _damn_ , the kid was good. Most of his works were for mock campaigns, to show Eren’s range when it came to creating an advert. Levi’s attention was caught by a video for a mock Nike advert. To an expert eye, the video did have a few flaws, probably due to budget restrictions, but overall, Eren was talented. 

“Ooh, that’s nice”, a voice said behind his back, and Levi turned around. Hange was standing right there, a huge smile and their laptop in one hand, “Are you looking for a new junior?”

Hange sat next to him and placed their laptop beside his. Levi scoffed, shaking his head.

“Fuck, no. It’s just a student of mine.”

As Levi closed the tab, he cursed to himself as he realised Eren’s Twitter profile was still on there, and he prepared himself for some typically inappropriate Hange commentary; he knew it was coming.

“Oh my, that’s a pretty boy, right there. Just your type, isn’t that right, Levi?” Hange hummed with a sly smile.

Levi frowned.

“I don’t have a type.”

“Right. You screw anything that breathes. _But_ , you do have a preference for pretty boys with big eyes, don’t even try to deny it.”

“You don’t know what you’re talking about”, Levi grumbled, closing his laptop shut and turning towards his friend.

“I know exactly what I’m talking about. Statistically speaking, 87% of your past lovers were tall, cute boys with huge eyes. And 10% were cute petite girls with big-ass eyes. The remaining 3% were random people you hooked up with because you were off your tits, and we all know you have absolutely no standards when you’re pissed.”

Levi looked at Hange in disbelief, not even knowing how to respond to that. His friend was an absolute weirdo, and where were those percentages even coming from? Levi couldn’t even begin to imagine where they supposedly gathered that kind of data. He pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed deeply. 

“Instead of nosing around in my sex life, why don’t you put that statistical brain of yours to use, and tell me what the fuck it is you came here to say.”

“You are no fun.”

Hange then proceeded to ungracefully shove Levi’s laptop away and place theirs in the front.

“Alright, two things. First of all, I calculated the budget required for that Hendrick’s Gin campaign your team came up with. It’s way over what the client is willing to pay, you’re going to have to make a few changes and make it cheaper.”

‘You’re shitting me, right?” Levi growled, crossing his arms defensively, “If Hendrick’s wants a WOF campaign, it better stay in its lane and let us do our job. Cheap bastards.”

Hange smiled understandingly; Levi had never been good at interacting with clients, often letting insults and snarky comments slip out during meetings. That was why Erwin had decided to exclude him from most meetings with clients, and only include him when it was absolutely necessary. And even then, Levi was put under careful scrutiny, in case he ran his big mouth.

“I’ll see if Erwin can talk them into spilling some more money, but I can’t promise anything. You’d better come up with a contingency plan, just in case.”

Their comment was received with a loud huff, but they decided to ignore it and move onto the next issue. 

“Now… Erwin wanted to make sure you're coming to the PR Week Awards next week.”

Levi hated those kinds of events; it was just a bunch of journalists, PR practitioners and advertising agencies pretending to like each other while talking shit behind each other's backs. Or as Erwin liked to put it, 'making connections'. Total garbage, in Levi’s opinion. Nevertheless, he knew Eyebrows wasn’t going to let him skip the event. He could almost hear him in his head.

_“Fame comes at a price, Levi. You represent WOF Agency just as much as the rest of us, you need to show your face and act nice.”_

“Seeing as I don’t have a choice... “, Levi leaned back against his chair and brought his arms behind his head. Maybe that was going to be his chance to relieve his blue balls, he did know a few journalists that would have gladly joined him under the sheets.

  
  


✴

  
  


Once he got home, Levi took his shoes off at the door and headed straight to his booze cabinet, pouring himself a generous glass of Scotch, before moving on the couch. He felt absolutely drained, that day had been particularly rough on him. He didn’t have anything in the fridge, he probably wasn’t going to sleep that well, as per usual; and in addition to all that, he felt particularly restless. 

To distract himself, he decided to check which students had already submitted their coursework. He had assigned a non-graded assignment the week before, just to see where everybody was at, and if his students were listening to the lectures, so that he could prepare awful revenge if he found out they weren’t. They only had to write a mere 1,000-word case study on a campaign of their choice, using the knowledge they had acquired from the module up to that point, and Levi was low-key hoping his class would do a good job. Whilst he liked treating them like the little shits they were, he always felt immensely proud when the little brats came up with decent papers.

Scrolling through the names, he noticed that at least half of the class had already submitted, which was a good sign. Levi wouldn’t have admitted it to himself, but he was quickly skimming through to see if Eren’s name popped up. He was curious to see if the kid was as academically talented as he was with his designs. Almost as if Eren had sensed he was thinking about him, his name appeared on top of the list, signalling that Jaeger had just submitted his work.

“Mhm”, Levi hummed as he moved the cursor to click on the file.

As the word document opened, Levi immediately noticed that Eren had written in Arial font, size 11, which Levi much appreciated. The man was particular about that kind of stuff; the number of times he had instigated a kerfuffle in the office over someone’s email or pitch, just because it was written in a font that Levi did not approve of. He didn’t care how many times Hange teased him about his weird fixation, or how many times Erwin told him to cool it down, _professionals did not write an email in green_.

Eren had written his case study on the semiotics of heteronormativity and LGBT representation in advertising, and Levi wondered whether the young guy was trying to send him a message. It was perhaps a little self-centric to think that way. Still, Levi was not an idiot, he had noticed the way Eren let his gaze wander on his strong body, and the way he always seemed to squirm and agitate whenever they were in close proximity. Not to mention the clumsy attempts at flirting. Eren had already told him he had checked him out on the internet, which meant he already knew Levi was bisexual, and Eren certainly didn’t hide his own sexuality – for fuck’s sake, he had a rainbow pendant attached to his bag.

Of course, none of that helped Levi’s case, who was already dangerously pining for the boy. He quickly finished his drink in a gulp and set the glass aside, before immersing himself in Eren’s words.

The kid was good, his academic writing was on point, and his analyses showed appropriate critical thinking. Overall, Levi was pleased.

“You’re smart too, you sexy brat”, Levi hummed to himself as he quickly wrote his feedback.

_Well done, Eren._

_Your work is thoughtful, and does not make overstated or unsupported claims, and makes sense of a complex problem. Your extensive body of evidence in_ _dictates a very extensive amount of research, and therefore, it exhibits your intellect and sophisticated understanding of the matters and ideas under discussion._

_The work is also very well written, with no errors of grammar, punctuation or spelling._

_Keep it up._

Levi leaned back after submitting and leaned back against the couch. Eren… Eren was a damn devil. With his chocolate locks, and his bright green eyes, his red lips, the way he swayed his hips ever so slightly when he walked, his daring looks and that shit-eating grin. Perhaps Hange was right, that was his type exactly. Not that he mattered, Levi couldn’t act on his impulses with a student; besides, he was almost certain that, hadn’t he been sexually frustrated, Eren wouldn’t have had that effect on him. He just needed a fuck to reset his brain, and then he would have been able to look at the boy without imagining him on all four for him. Onto his bed, all spread out and begging him to fuck him harder, a wrecked expression and his mouth open as he moaned his name.

“Fuck…”, Levi grunted as he felt his trousers getting tight around his crotch area. He squeezed the sensitive zone just a little, a shiver travelling down his spine. 

He bit his bottom lip as he slowly unzipped his trousers and lowered them just enough to relieve his aching cock. He palmed his clothed erection as he set the laptop aside, before sliding his hand inside his own boxers, gripping his cock firmly. He should have probably looked for some porn on his laptop. Still, his mind had a pretty vivid image of how he imagined Eren would've looked kneeled between his legs as he sucked him off, and god forbid him from ruining such a nice portrayal with sloppy amateur porn. As he started moving his hand up and down his shaft rather ferociously, Levi imagined a moaning Eren, convulsing under him as Levi pounded inside of him, ravishing him with all he had, Eren’s long legs on his shoulders as the boy cried his name.

“Shit…”

Levi groaned and crouched forward a little as he kept jerking off, feeling closer and closer to his release. The things he would have done to that bratty guy; he would have flipped him around and spanked his beautiful ass until it was livid and Eren couldn’t take it anymore. God, he could almost hear Eren’s broken voice as he begged him to have mercy and just fuck him. 

It was the image of Eren’s arching his back and moaning as he came that set Levi off. He came into his hand with a loud hiss. He leaned against the couch again, panting slightly as he lifted his soiled hand. It was bad; he had just jacked off thinking about one of his students, and he didn’t even feel sorry. He hoped that taking care of himself would have appeased him, at least for now, but it had only made the situation worse. His balls were still aching, and he had no doubt that, if Eren had been there, he would have been ready for a round two. 

With a sigh, Levi got up and headed to the bathroom to wash the semen away. As he looked at himself in the mirror, his eyes caught the reflection of the shower, and he felt his cock twitching. He loved sex in the shower; his mind instantly pictured a wet and panting Eren, elbows pressed against the cold white tiles, and himself on his knees, eating his ass out. 

“Fucking stop already”, Levi growled to himself. 

He couldn’t go on that way, or he would have ended up doing something that he would have regretted. A nice ass wasn’t enough justification to put his career in jeopardy. He needed to put some distance between him and the boy. It was only a couple of months, and then he wouldn’t have had to see him ever again. 

He could do it. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey there, thank you for reading. Hope you enjoyed the update. x
> 
> If you did, please leave a comment or a kudos, I love reading your feedback and opinions!
> 
> See you next week. xx


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ... Hey there. It's been a while.
> 
> Is anyone still reading this?
> 
> Please, read the notes at the end to know more about why I disappeared for five months.
> 
> Fair warning: I don't particularly like Floch but since it was merely a flirt for Levi, I didn't want to pair him with a major character. 
> 
> Hope you enjoy the chapter. xx

Walking into his class, Levi noticed how everyone went silent as soon as he placed his bag onto the desk. He was always quick to impose discipline, and he would have been lying if he had said he didn’t kind of enjoy the slightly frightful expressions on his students’ faces. However, three faces in particular were completely different from the rest of the class. A blond guy, who always looked calm and composed; a Japanese girl who always looked indifferent throughout every single class; and of course, the person who sat in between them. Eren was looking at him with interest, the shadow of a smile on his lips, as if he was waiting in anticipation for Levi to start talking. 

Memories of what he had done only a few days prior, started floating back. Him, touching himself as he pictured the boy in the most indecent scenarios. He quickly averted his gaze as he set up the smartboard.

“Tonight,” he began, “I am being forced to attend the shittiest event of the year”, Levi said as he opened the website of the PR Week Awards, and projected it onto the screen.

“Officially, it is an event to showcase creative and ground-breaking campaigns and award hard-working teams for outstanding achievements.”

A murmur of awe and surprise spread across the class, and Levi failed to stop his eyes from rolling back at that reaction.

“In practicality, it is an over-the-top event where shit-heads from PR and advertising agencies gather together to get pissed and pretend to like each other’s work; whilst barely-graduated little brats, who had to give up a month of grocery to afford the ticket – much like yourself in a few months, pathetically attempt to network and get someone to notice them.”

The excitement quickly dissipated following Levi’s word, although he could sense that Eren was sniggering, hiding his mouth behind his hand. 

“Something funny, Jaeger?”

Put on the spot, Eren quickly straightened up like a little soldier and shook his head vigorously.

“No, sir.”

Levi should have let it go, really. He didn’t need to engage with the kid any more than that, or the consequences would have been dramatic for him. However, Levi wasn’t known to follow the rules, he never had.

“Funny, I could have sworn you were having a great time back there.”

Eren bit his bottom lip, looking at him attentively, almost as if he was trying to figure out if Levi was actually annoyed.

“It’s just… You make it sound like we’ll never have a chance to get a job, no matter how hard we try. So, what are we supposed to do?”

Levi’s eyebrow twitched imperceptibly; the kid had a big-ass mouth. Oh, the fun he would have had, putting him in his place.

“Pay your dues, take shit from everyone, and have talent. That’s how you get a job”, Levi responded as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

Eren’s face dropped at Levi’s harsh tone, and instead of replying, he made himself smaller in his seat, looking away. Usually, Levi would have been proud of getting that kind of reaction out of someone who had defied him; however, looking at Eren’s beaten expression, he only felt discomfort. Then again, it was probably for the best.

“Anyways”, Levi proceeded, turning towards the class again, “Many campaigns will be awarded tonight. I happen to already know which ones. So what I’d like you to do today, is to pick one from this list”, Levi turned his head slightly and pointed out at the board where a list was displayed, “... And tell me why they suck.”

Levi followed with his eyes each and everyone’s confused expression, following his explanation.

“That’s right. I don’t want to know what makes them good, we’ve already done that. I want you to use your little brains and come up with everything that is wrong with them, and what could have been done to make it better. Just because a campaign is successful, it doesn’t mean that it’s perfect. No campaign is. Well, except mine”, Levi grinned, “One hour. Come on.”

  
  


✴

After the end of the lecture, Levi sat back in his chair as the students swiftly flooded out of the class. 

The kids were doing okay. Not all of them showcased an immense in-depth knowledge of his subject, or the correct critical-thinking process that Levi so appreciated, but overall, not bad for their first month. 

Eren had been unusually quiet when his group had come at the front to show what they had come up with, mainly leaving Armin and Mikasa to talk. He really shouldn’t have cared, and he told himself that he didn’t. 

Levi wasn’t a particularly nice person. His ways were always somewhat harsh and unfriendly, and he wasn’t about to feel bad for being himself around Eren. Not even the sight of the guy’s adorable pout and sad eyes was going to. No fucking way.

Almost as if Eren could read his mind, his gaze was met with a pair of upset and beautiful green eyes, staring back at him. Eren was standing right in front of his desk, once again, after everyone else had already left.

“Can I help you?” Levi said, perhaps a little too sharply than he meant to. Eren seemed to hesitate, given his tone, but a renewed sense of resolution quickly appeared on his gorgeous features.

“Sir, I just wanted to apologise… I didn’t mean to come across as rude earlier.”

Levi raised both eyebrows; he was saying sorry to him? Levi distractedly bit the inside of his left cheek, before letting out a soft hum.

“You didn’t. Try to relax, kid. If you get upset over every little thing I say, you won’t survive in my class. Or anywhere, for that matter.”

Levi felt to urge to bite his tongue when his tone turned harsh again; he just couldn’t fucking help it. Eren’s shoulders relaxed visibly, and the boy attempted a smile that made Levi’s heart flutter in his chest. Stupid brat. 

The raven averted his gaze, looking at the desks right behind the boy, so that it wouldn’t look like he was intensely staring at those green eyes that’d been haunting his dreams lately. 

“Right…” Eren continued, slumping his shoulders slightly and tilting his neck, exposing the tanned skin of his throat. Oh, how much he would’ve liked to sink his teeth into it. When Levi felt his cock twitching in his pants and threatening an erection, he knew he had to get out of there as soon as possible. 

He quickly shot up his seat and grabbed his bag, hoping that it would be enough for the boy to understand he needed to leave. Eren was observing his movements, almost as if looking for something, and Levi had never felt so exposed in his entire life. It was as if Eren could read his mind, but of course, he couldn’t. And thank god for that, cause his student would have found the dirtiest thoughts about him in there. 

“Have a good day, Jaeger.” 

And with that, Levi was out of the door, fighting the impulse to physically run away. 

  
  


✴

Levi had never been one for dressing up. He’d been raised in an environment where you could get picked at for anything, and clothes were no exception. Being invisible was a priority, because the more you could blend in a crowd, the easier it was to slide a wallet out of someone’s pocket. It’d been a long time since then, and yet sometimes, he still had the impulse to conceal himself under anonymous clothing. The world he lived in now was different; looking good was part of it all. If Levi had to give a pitch, investors were going to look at the way he presented himself, and whether they were going to send money their way for an advert depended heavily on whether he decided to wear jeans or slacks that morning. It also depended on the product, and on the kind of people he was going to talk in front of. But the point remained. 

That was why Erwin always made sure to provide him with information on the clients so that Levi could behave accordingly. It never got easier. 

Since Levi’s foul mouth was not going to change anytime soon, clothes were the only way for him to at least make a decent impression. 

Events were no different.

Levi gave one last look at his hallway mirror. His hair was slicked back, and he’d picked a black suit. He debated whether he was also going to wear a tie, but decided against it last minute. Wearing one always made him feel like a nameless face in the business; that wasn’t the kind of blending in he had in mind. 

He discarded the tie and reached for his cravat instead. It was a good middle ground; besides, he knew Erwin was going to have his ass if he were to show up looking sloppy.

Levi had every intention of drinking that night, so instead of hopping into his car, he ordered an Uber to the venue, despite his raging aversion towards uber drivers. If he’d wanted to talk about his day, his life and his problems, he would’ve gone to therapy. He simply couldn’t understand what was so uncomfortable about spending a twenty-minute ride in complete silence. 

The driver he ended up with wouldn’t shut up, telling Levi all about how his daughter had just gotten into uni, and what a terrible time it was for a parent to watch their precious little bird leave the nest. By the time the man stopped at the entrance of the venue, Levi was already dealing with a banging headache and a desperate craving for a strong drink.

“You’re late”, were the words Erwin welcomed him with.

Levi sighed dramatically and brought a hand to his heart, painting a pained expression on his face.

“Am I? Oh, I’m so incredibly sorry. I was held up.”

His boss looked at him sceptically, raising one of his incredibly bushy eyebrows.

“Held up by what?”

“By my not wanting to come here.” Levi deadpanned, and if you’d asked Erwin whether he was surprised by his creative director’s response… he was not. 

The blond giant simply sighed and shook his head in slight disapproval. He’d always wished for Levi to be even  _ slightly more  _ sociable and less threatening; there was no doubt it would’ve done his friend good to just be a bit less of a dick. But Erwin recognised that was part of Levi’s charm too. Along with having one of the greatest creative minds of their generation of advertisers, his apparent indisposition contributed to creating an aura of mystery around him. Whether they admitted it or not, every account director at that event, at one point or another, had tried to lure Levi in, to pay him off to go work for them. Little did they know that Levi would’ve never betrayed Erwin and WOF. 

“I’m sure you’ll be fine… as always”, Erwin said, pointing at a group of four men talking only a few steps away from them. Levi knew that his boss wasn’t merely pointing in the general direction of them but at one specific person. His eyes followed Erwin’s gaze, to a pretty red-head who was throwing shy looks towards him every now and then. Levi scoffed and shook his head. 

Right. Floch Forster. They’d been flirting for ages now, at every event and conference. A few stolen touches and heated glances, but that was about it. Levi had never made a move for the simple reason that Floch gave him the impression of being a little clingy. He’d gotten word of the fact that he’d been asking around for his number, and as far as Levi was concerned, that was a massive red flag in his book. However, that night he was desperate enough for entertainment to risk it.

Levi grabbed a glass of prosecco from one of the servers walking around with trays. He gulped it in one go, before giving his empty flute to Erwin with an unapologetic grin. He turned on his heel and headed towards Floch, who immediately straightened up as he realised that Levi was walking towards him. 

“Gentlemen… Floch.” Levi said, tilting his head and effectively ignoring the other three men, as he stared directly into the red-head boy’s eyes and smiled charmingly. 

Now, Levi didn’t  _ smile _ . At least, not genuinely. He grinned sarcastically, and he smirked to attract his prey. It was never honest or heartfelt, it was purely convenient on occasion. But the truth was that most people could not tell the difference; Floch was one of those people.

The boy blushed and giggled in embarrassment, as Levi offered him his arm and guided him away from the others.

“Apologies, I’m going to have to steal Mr Forster for a moment”, Levi said as his lips curved into a polite smile, which disappeared as soon as he turned his head away from them.

He could feel Floch’s tight grip around his bicep, as he led them towards the bar. The red-head jumped onto one of the stools, while Levi remained standing, leaning with his elbows onto the counter and calling for the bartender with a simple movement of his fingers.

“What would you like?” He asked, wrapping an arm around Floch’s waist.

“A daiquiri would be great.” The boy responded, and Levi suppressed the urge to roll his eyes up at the mispronunciation of the drink.

“A  _ daiquiri _ and a rusty nail.” He said, taking his credit card out of his wallet and handing it to the bartender. “Open a tab, while you’re at it.” 

As they waited for their drinks, Floch crossed his legs and leaned against his ear.

“I was hoping to see you tonight. It turns out, you’re a rather difficult person to contact.” 

Levi raised an eyebrow and tightened his lips in a thin line, which then relaxed in a forced smirk. He didn’t respond; there wasn’t much to say. If he wanted someone to have his number and text him at every hour of the day and night – which was rare, getting a hold of him wasn’t so hard. 

“I heard you might be awarded Best Creative Director of the year…  _ again _ .” Floch continued and playfully punched his shoulder, before leaning in even closer.

Levi shrugged and took a sip of his drink.

“Seems like it.”

It wasn’t a big deal for Levi. At the cost of sounding like an ass, he was not afraid of saying; it wasn’t an award that made him better than any other creative director in the room; his skills did.

The man finished his drink in one go, before leaving his empty glass on the counter, (im)patiently waiting for his date of the night to finish his own. Then, he led them back to the centre of the room, where people had started gathering to hear the nominations.

As predicted, Levi was awarded BCD of the year thanks to his campaign for Cuervo, and way too many people came to congratulate him, with their fake smiles and heavy pats on his back. 

Levi was already entirely done with that night, and anyone who knew him could probably tell by the way his plastered smile was almost turning into a psychotic grin. Erwin was giving him some death stares, daring him to step out of line. His team, gathered together a few steps away from him, were snickering away, knowing damn well that his boss was probably going to be in a foul mood the day after. 

And Hange… Where the hell were they? You would think they would be the first in line to make fun of his misfortune.

The raven-haired man shrugged it off, steel eyes roaming the room for just one brief moment, before turning back to his ~~soon-to-be hook-up of the night~~ date.

“So, tell me… Anyone waiting for you at home?” Floch asked, and god, it was so easy. 

Far from Levi to slut-shame anyone; as far as he was concerned, people should be able to sleep with whoever they liked, at whatever pace they preferred. Want to bone on a first date? Go for it. Want to skip the date and get straight into bed? My, he was up for that too. 

However, he was aware of his reputation. He knew many approached him with the promise of a no-strings-attached arrangement, in the hope of becoming the one that finally would’ve stolen Levi Ackerman’s heart. It was degrading for them because maybe, had they not have the delusion of changing him into something that he wasn’t, they would’ve never slept with him so quickly. And it was a hassle for Levi because, in all honesty, he didn’t have time to worry about other people’s Florence nightingale jollies. 

Floch was deluded, just like the others. But Levi had made no promises.

“No”, He replied, slowly. “Just a hot tub and a deliciously firm king-size bed.” 

Levi’s arm sneaked behind the red-head’s back, wrapping around his waist and pulling him closer. Floch seemed to falter, as his cheeks turned pink and his mouth opened ever so slightly, letting out a choked breath. 

“Well, then… would you like some company in this _ deliciously firm _ king-size bed of yours?”

The shorter man didn’t reply, he simply pulled the guy closer to him, his breath ghosting over Floch’s neck as he opened his mouth to reply.

_ “Wooooow, Mr Ackerman was right, this is wayyyyyy too over-the-top.” _

A high-pitched, slurred and familiar voice made him suddenly pull away from his date, as he turned around so quickly, his neck cracked. 

“Is that what he said?” Another familiar voice.

Levi’s eyes scanned the room once again until a tall, lanky figure and Hange came into focus. The guy was not dressed for the occasion, his legs wrapped in a pair of extremely tight skinny jeans, and a silky green shirt that could’ve used a couple of more buttons. He could see the tanned skin of the guy’s chest, and before his gaze landed on his face, Levi knew who it was.

“What the fuck?” He thundered.

What the hell was Eren doing there?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Right, so.
> 
> I'm reallys sorry for disappearing so abruptly. I started this story a week before my country went into lockdown, and as you can imagine, it wasn't easy. I had problems with work, with being stuck in my place and having to deal with my anxiety and depression. I'm sure a lot of you can relate. 
> 
> I often came back to this chapter over the course of these five months, trying to finish it. I knew where I was going with it, but it was as if I couldn't get the words out.
> 
> I was so overwhelmed by your comments though. Many of you have left amazing feedback, and I feel really bad for leaving you hanging for so long. 
> 
> However, I've gotta thank you. Your comments were the only thing that didn't make me abandon the story completely, and so here I am, trying to get this story back on track.
> 
> From now on, the story will be updated fairly often and please, keep leaving comments and feedback. As a writer, it means so much to know how people are feeling about the story, that's literally what makes us want to keep writing.
> 
> Once again, I hope you're all safe and that everything is okay. 
> 
> See you soon. xx


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, that was a fairly quick update, innit.
> 
> Thank you all SO MUCH for the support, y'all absolutely fantastic. xx
> 
> This chapter is like two pages longer than usual, I JUST COULDN'T STOP.
> 
> I hope you enjoy it. xx

The last thing Eren expected that morning when he rolled out of bed was to feel so miserable. He’d woken up bright and early, and in a good mood. He’d managed to go out for a run, he’d washed his hair, and he’d meditated; all in time to even be able to stand in front of his closet and carefully pick his outfit of the day, before heading to class.

During his commute on the bus, he’d opened his student email to find that he’d received feedback for his assignment, and he’d been giddy about it all morning. He’d been so incredibly nervous about submitting that case study to the bisexual, extremely hot lecturer who he had a crush on. On the one hand, if Mr Ackerman hadn’t realised he was also not straight, he could’ve thought he was trying to queer bait him. On the other hand, if the man did know he was gay - it’s not like Eren did much to hide it, he could’ve interpreted it as him trying to send him a message.

Which, in all fairness, was precisely what he was trying to do. He hadn’t exactly thought things through, he didn’t have a plan. He’d got an idea, and he’d gone with it, without really thinking of the consequences until it was too late. 

But now the results were in, and they could only mean two things: either his lecturer was completely oblivious, or he’d seen right through him, and he didn’t mind. Somehow, Eren believed that the latter was more likely. Levi looked like he always knew what was going on at all times.

So what did that mean, then?

Eren wasn’t dumb, he probably stood no chance with a man of the calibre of Mr Ackerman. He was nothing but a broke college student with a passion and a low-cost website to show for his talent. He was cute, sure. He knew how to take care of himself, and he’d never had any problems attracting guys. He’d had his flings - too many, his sister would’ve argued. But he didn’t know the first thing of how to snatch a man like Levi. 

He didn’t necessarily see their student-teacher relationship as an obstacle, the man would only be his lecturer for a few months. But this wasn’t a film, nor a cliche fanfiction and the truth was, Levi had probably a long line of men and women at his feet, with much more to offer than him. They weren’t soulmates from another life, there was no such thing. If he wanted Levi to even consider him as a potential _anything_ , he would’ve had to work for it.

Still, at least the man knew who he was, he even followed him on Twitter; that had to account for something, surely.

… Or maybe it didn’t mean shit, considering the way the man spoke to him during class.

His mood had plummeted after their brief interaction, and suddenly Eren found himself in the worst possible mood. 

Just, what the hell?

Levi had been fairly nice, if not downright playful with him. Judging from the comment he’d received for his work, there was no apparent explanation for why his lecturer had acted so pissily with him that day. 

Levi had made it very clear at the start of the class that he wasn’t in a good mood, as he was being forced to attend an event that night. And Eren could understand that; people had bad days. Fine. Absolutely fair. Sometimes people even took their bad mood out on people, and maybe he was simply the nearest target for the man that day.

Still, it didn’t change the fact that Eren was feeling down and depressed. Currently, with his face pressed against the wood of one of the tables at the canteen, Eren was listening to _Jean_ , of all people, talking about how amazing his Advanced Graphic Design class was. 

Oh yeah, Eren had eventually found out that the twat who’d stolen his spot in the class he’d initially picked was, and that was none other than Jean Kirstein. 

Jean was in all of their mandatory classes, and he was a ‘friend’; as in, they hung out in the same group of friends. As for the two of them, there wasn’t a day they didn’t butt heads over something. Eren didn’t hate _hate_ Jean, per se. Over the three years he’d known him, the horse-looking guy had shown himself to be a great friend, at times. Namely, the time Eren had had way too many shots of tequila, and he’d ended up crouched on the floor, crying because everything was spinning around him. Jean had taken him home, stayed with him in the bathroom for four hours, holding his forehead while he puked his guts out, before brushing his teeth, while Eren was already half-passed out on his bed. He’d even tucking him into bed. 

They never talked about that night; Eren was pretty sure Jean preferred to pretend it’d never happened, just so to keep his reputation of a carefree douchebag. 

So no, Eren didn’t hate Jean. He knew that, deep down, he was a good guy, and that he cared more than he let on. However, he couldn’t understand why someone would want to be something that they weren’t. Somewhere along the line, Jean had decided that being his caring, considerate self wasn’t cool enough, and so he hid that side of himself in favour of douchey humour and a laddie-lad attitude.

Eren liked genuine people, those who weren’t afraid to be so unapologetically themselves.

Maybe that was why he liked Levi so much; the man did not give a damn. He knew he didn’t owe shit to anybody, and that it was not worth pretending to be someone that he wasn’t. 

And now he was thinking about Mr Ackerman again. He’d promised himself he wasn’t going to dwell on it, but it seemed to be more challenging than he’d thought. 

“God, are you still moping about?” Jean groaned, “You’re getting me depressed, too.”

Eren didn’t say anything, he simply lifted one hand and gave him the middle finger, before dropping the hand back on the table with a loud ‘ _thud_ ’.

Jean scoffed.

“What is it with him today?”

“Eren has a crush on our Semiotics lecturer and today he was a little pissy,” Mikasa said, shrugging.

A moment of silence ensued before Jean cracked up in loud laughter. 

“That is _so on-brand_ for you, Jaeger. Shit, I didn’t know you were into old men. You like your dicks well seasoned, huh?”

“He’s not _that_ old,” Eren said, finally lifting his head off the table and glaring at his friend, “And even if I did, it’d be none of your business.”

“Ouch, you must be really hurt. That’s adorable that you have a crush. Genuinely, it reminds me of elementary school. Good times.”

“Well, that’s no surprise. Your brain hasn’t developed much since then,” Eren bit back.

“Okay, pause,” Marco interjected, pulling Jean back by his shoulders, as the guy had pushed himself forward as if he was about to grab Eren by his collar. Which wouldn’t have been the first time.

“Dickhead,” Eren muttered.

“Shit-face.”

  
  
  


✴

Eventually, Eren’s friends decided that he needed to stop thinking about his hopeless crush and distract himself.

Translation: Jean made it its mission to find him some dick that night. Because _he cared_ , the little shit. Not that he was ever going to admit that. His reasons, according to him, were that he was tired of hearing him complain about Levi giving him the cold shoulder that day.

The thing was, Eren appreciated the concern that his friends were showing him, but he didn’t need a one-night-stand to forget about Levi, because he couldn’t just get over it and move on with his life. If that was possible, he wouldn’t’ve been there, standing at a bar with a gin and tonic, boringly swaying off all the guys that approached him. 

It was such a waste, though. He liked how he was dressed that night; Armin had taken him out shopping in the afternoon because he knew Eren always felt better when he had a brand new pair of _anything_.

And he wasn’t going to lie, he felt great in his silky green shirt. He loved shirts; the more extravagant, the better. And yet, he just couldn’t bring himself to enjoy the night out. 

Everything had gone downhill the moment he’d decided to check out the Instagram page of the event Levi was attending that night. He’d opened the live stream, and Levi’s figure had popped up a couple of times here and there. For that little he could see, the man looked absolutely amazing. But he shouldn’t have been surprised. Mr Ackerman was a god-sent gift to humanity, with his high cheekbones, and his steely eyes, his smouldering gaze, his built physique and his beautiful hands, with those long fingers that he was dying to feel on his skin; touching, grazing, fondling, squeezing, deep inside _and now he was thinking about him again_.

There was no way out.

No matter how much they tried to distract him at first, his friends soon seemed to forget why they’d gone out in the first place. Even Mikasa looked a little tipsy, and she was laughing out loud with Jean and Marco. Jean, the bastard, looked like he was in heaven, squeezed between his sister and the freckled boy. Eren knew that his friend had a crush on Mikasa; Jean had no problem admitting it either. However, there was something about when Marco was around. It was as if Jean suddenly turned into this sweet and sensitive guy. 

It’s not like he and Jean ever talked about things like sexuality, and Eren didn’t care about what people liked, either way, so he never assumed their orientation. Jean was no exception, so it really wasn’t that much of a surprise to find out that horse-face maybe had a little crush on their male friend too. Still, Jean behaved completely differently with his two infatuations, and Eren just wanted to see what was going to come out of the whole situation. 

Being left to his own devices for most of the night, Eren drank. A lot.

Four cocktails and five shots in, his vision wasn’t as clear, and his mind even less. The music in the club was too loud, and Eren wasn’t even sure about where his group was. He stumbled out of the bar, completely forgetting about his jacket. 

The cold air hit him right in the face, and he hugged his body in a weak attempt to shield himself from the wind. 

The alcohol coursing through his body was making him feel light and free, and he’d stopped thinking about Levi.

No, that was not true, but he’d definitely stopped moping about. Now, he was struggling to google the event where he knew he would’ve found him. Because, why the hell not. It’s not like anyone was there to stop him.

He clicked on ‘directions’ and hold and behold, the place was _only_ forty minutes away on foot. Had he been sober, Eren would’ve stomped and cursed his broke student lifestyle, and the inability of ordering an Uber. But he was drunk, very damn drunk, and forty minutes of walking in the cold only sounded like a good way of sobering up before seeing his lecturer. 

What a great plan, he told himself with a lazy smile as he started walking, eyes fixed on his screen.

It took him exactly fifty-one minutes to reach his destination. His face was cold, and his hands had lost mobility, but he was there, in front of the fancy building that was currently hosting the PR Week Awards.

Eren approached the entrance without thinking too much about it, and he easily sneaked in, right past the eyes of the receptionist. He stumbled towards the lift, finding a sign for the Awards.

Third floor, Auditorium B. 

Easy enough.

Eren called the lift and pressed the third-floor button, bopping his head slightly in time with the soft classical music playing. 

When the door opened, the brunette didn’t take long to find the auditorium, since people were walking in and out of the room. 

Seeing as it’d been so easy for him to sneak into the main building, Eren’s inebriated mind didn’t even consider the possibility that someone could’ve stopped him because, well, _he didn’t have an invite_.

“Name?” A tall and big man in a black suit asked sternly, eyeing him up and down with suspicion. It was apparent that Eren didn’t belong there.

“Huh… Eren Jaeger.” He replied, rubbing an eye tiredly. He could barely feel his legs by that point.

“Your name is not on the list.”

“It’s… It’s not.” Eren agreed; of course, he wasn’t on the list, why would he be?

The gigantic man tilted his head and looked at him as if he was stupid.

“I cannot let you in without an invite.”

“Why not?” He slurred out, clenching his hands in fists and pouting like a toddler.

“... Because, as I said, you don’t have an invite.”

Eren looked distraught at that notion. He’d come from so far just so he could see Mr Ackerman. He was so close, the man was literally on the other side of the door. And he couldn’t get in. What a fucking joke. 

“You’re not going to cry, are you?” The man asked, looking extremely uncomfortable at the sight of Eren’s teary eyes.

Damn right he was going to cry. He was all alone, he was far from home, his feet hurt and he was so drunk he couldn’t see straight.

“I… I just want to see Levi… Please…,” Eren covered his face with both hands, rubbing his eyes hard again to prevent any tears from rolling down his cheeks. 

“What do we have here?” An unfamiliar voice suddenly said, and Eren looked up. A woman- no, wait. Was it a guy? Eren could not tell in his dazed state. The person was standing there in a beautiful bright red suit, holding the stem of their glasses with two fingers, and they were smiling at him as if they were an old friend of his.

“Did you just say you want to see Levi?” They enquired, an amused grin painted on their lips.

Both Eren and the security guard looked at them in shock, and the young boy slowly nodded.

“Now, why would you want to see that temperamental midget?”

Eren looked up at the ceiling for a moment, in thought. He didn’t exactly have a good reason to be there; he’d just followed his (drunk) instincts. It just seemed like a good idea.

“He’s my lecturer at uni.” He then said. 

It wasn’t exactly a good reason, but he couldn’t come up with a better explanation.

The eyes of the person in front of him suddenly sparked up in interest. They looked at him up and down for a brief moment, before a devilish smirk curved their lips.

“Did you say your name was Eren?”

The brunette nodded vigorously.

“And Levi is your lecturer at uni?”

Eren nodded again.

It was as if the person was suddenly connecting the dots in their head. 

“He’s with me,” they said to the guard, before grabbing Eren by his wrist and guiding him inside the auditorium. “Lovely to meet you. I’m Hange Zoë.”

Eren shook the hand that was offered to him, not bothering to question who the hell this person was, and why they were so keen on helping him get in. It didn’t really matter.

As it was to be expected for such a major event, the auditorium was beautifully decorated, and everyone was so dressed up and elegant. If Eren hadn’t been intoxicated by all that tequila he’d drunk, he would’ve felt somewhat underdressed. Luckily enough, liquid courage was literally cursing through his veins.

“Wooooow, Mr Ackerman was right, this is wayyyyyy too over-the-top.” He commented, suddenly remembering what Levi had said about the Awards. It was nice, definitely, but he could see what the man meant when he said that everyone there was putting on a facade. Everyone and everything looked way too perfect and polished.

Hange snickered next to him, still guiding him through the crowds of people.

“Is that what he said?”

Eren hummed in confirmation and started looking around, eager to find the reason why he’d come there in the first place. He didn’t have to look for long, though, as his gaze soon met his favourite pair of grey eyes. 

Mr Ackerman.

Levi.

He was standing right there, dressed not as formal as most people at the event, but beautiful nonetheless. His hair was slicked back, a style that Eren had never seen on him but that he much appreciated and, oh. How he would’ve liked to thread his fingers into those black strands, and mess his hair up. 

The man was looking intensely at him, squinting his eyes as if he couldn’t believe he was there. Which made sense, why the hell would his student ass be at such a fancy event, of all places?

Hange waved a hand at him and smiled innocently, and Levi slowly let go of the man he was holding in his arms - who the hell was that, anyway?

He slowly walked towards them until he was standing right in front of them. Eren knew that Levi was slightly shorter than him, but at that moment, he felt so small under his inquisitive gaze. 

“What’s the brat doing here?” He snarled at Hange, eyeing them suspiciously as if it was their fault that Eren was there. 

They laughed softly and playfully punched Levi on the shoulder.

“Oh, ease up, grumpy. I simply found him wandering outside the auditorium, looking for you. He looked like a lost puppy, I couldn’t just leave him there now, could I?” 

Levi’s eyes shifted back to him again, and Eren shivered imperceptibly. All he could do was smile a little, while the man’s expression didn’t change one bit. Still, Eren was pretty sure he could see a glint of intrigue in the man’s cold eyes.

“You got anything to say?” The man said. 

God, he had a nice voice. So smooth and silky. So husky. It made Eren’s brain go into overdrive, and he couldn’t even hide it.

Eren felt his cheeks getting hotter; whether it was for embarrassment or because of the booze, he couldn’t tell. Everything around him was fuzzy, the only clear figure being the man standing in front of him, and Eren just couldn’t take his eyes off him. He opened his mouth, then closed it again. Then, he spoke.

“You… You look great.” He simply said.

Levi’s eyes widened, he clearly hadn’t expected that response. The man stared at him for the longest time, before he slowly shook his head, an amused chuckle escaping his thin lips.

“Looks like someone had a fun night. How much did you drink before coming here on a whim?”

“Like…” Eren lifted one fist and started raising a finger for every cocktail and shot he _remembered_ to have ingested. He lifted six digits before losing track of his count, and he remained there, looking like a fish out of water. Tiredness was starting to dawn on him, and before he could say anything else, he yawned, hiding his mouth behind his open hand. 

Levi looked at him with a raised eyebrow and a somewhat fond expression.

“Did you go out by yourself?”

Eren shook his head, his eyes slightly watery and red around the corners. 

“Okay. Where are your friends?” Levi continued, his voice softer than he’d ever heard it. Eren could get used to being spoken to like that.

He simply shrugged, as he indeed had no idea. His phone had died just after he’d entered the building, he couldn’t even tell if they’d called.

“Can you call them?”

“Na-ah.” 

“Do you know anyone’s number I can call for you?”

Eren made a funny face, looking at Levi as if he’d said the dumbest shit ever and in all fairness, he kind of did. Who memorised people’s phone numbers anymore? Clearly, Levi did, because he scoffed and shook his head.

“Zoomers,” he muttered, “You clearly drank too much, I can tell you’re barely standing on two feet. Do you at least have an address I can take you to?”

Eren thought about it for a moment. He _definitely_ knew his home address. It was nearby the university. It was at College Avenue. No, College Street? College Road? Was it even ‘college’? Oh come on, why was his brain not working, and why all he could focus on was how a singular strand of jet-black hair was falling so graciously over Levi’s left eye?

He didn’t answer the question, and eventually, when Levi realised he was not going to answer anytime soon, he sighed again.

“Seriously, kid, what am I going to do with you.”

At that moment, a red-haired guy approached them, looking between Levi and Eren. That was the guy who was in Mr Ackerman’s arms just a few minutes before. The brunette frowned and crossed his arms over his chest in a defensive stance. Just who the hell was this guy?

“Everything okay here?” The red-haired asked, completely ignoring Eren’s presence.

Levi nodded and turned towards the younger guy.

“Yeah. I’m sorry Floch, looks like we’re going to need a rain check on… what we discussed.” 

“Why?!” Floch yelped, now turning to look at Eren with fire in his eyes. Eren didn’t look away.

Levi’s calm expression slowly turned into a stern one, one that made both Eren and Floch gulp.

“Because I said so.”

Nobody dared to speak after that, and Floch did not attempt to go after them when Levi grabbed Eren by the wrist and pulled him away towards the door. Then, Eren realised that Hange was nowhere to be seen. Weird, he hadn’t seen them leaving.

Levi guided him back downstairs and then outside. Immediately, Eren sniffed and shivered because of the cold breeze; he distinctly heard Levi mumbling before he felt something being placed onto his shoulders. He looked behind his back, noticing that Mr Ackerman had just given him his jacket, and my, it smelled just like him. Not that Eren had spent his time sniffing his teacher, and he absolutely _had not_ imagined that Levi would probably smell of sandalwood, and he absolutely _was not_ 100% correct. He blatantly sank his nose into the collar of the jacket, taking a deep inhale. So good.

“Oi. Kid.” 

Eren lifted his gaze up, finding Levi standing on the edge of the pavement, with his phone in his hand.

“Last chance to tell me your address.”

“I… Huh. It’s ten minutes from the university.”

“You’re going to need to be more specific than that.”

“There’s a small supermarket next to it.”

Levi stared at him in defeat, it was now apparent that they weren’t going to get anywhere with the address situation that night. The man seemed to hesitate for a moment, playing with his phone in his hand and fidgeting with the hem of his shirt. 

“Oh, fuck it,” he suddenly said.

After typing on his phone, he walked back towards Eren, standing next to him.

“I can’t wait to see your face tomorrow when you realise what you’ve done tonight.”

“What have I done tonight?” Eren asked dumbly, turning around to look at the older man.

Levi simply looked at him and chuckled, shaking his head.

“You’re a weird one, Jaeger.” 

Eren didn’t respond to that, he simply giggled and leaned against the other man’s shoulder. Levi didn’t move.

A few minutes later, a BMW stopped in front of them, and Mr Ackerman gently nudged him towards the car.

After that, it was all a bit of a blur. He vaguely remembered watching the city lights as the car drove on the empty roads. He probably nodded off at one point, because when the vehicle suddenly stopped, Levi shook his shoulder and hushed him out. 

Eren didn’t recognise the neighbourhood; in all fairness, he was quite drunk, but he was pretty confident that they weren’t in front of his flat. The building in front of him was way too fancy to be student accommodation, and so were its surroundings. 

He didn’t protest, nor said anything as he followed Levi inside, who’d in the meantime had wrapped an arm around him, as he took two steps forward and he almost tripped down on the ground. Still, it was nice to be so close to the man. Sober Eren would’ve been over the moon, but drunk and tired Eren only felt cosy and comfortable, as Mr Ackerman led them to the lift, and then through a hallway, until he stopped in front of a door. 

He fumbled with a hand in the pocket of his trousers, before taking out a pair of keys and opening the door, stepping aside to let Eren walk in.

It was dark inside, and Levi didn’t bother to tell him where they were or show him around, he simply guided him towards a bedroom.

“Oh- Oh, okay,” Eren slurred out when Levi turned the lights on, revealing a massive king-size bed. His cheeks turned beetroot red, as he turned around with his bright green eyes to look at the man, “I mean, I… I’d love to, but like. I don’t have condoms, or lube or anything… Well, I guess we don’t necessarily need lube, but it’s been a while, you know.”

He didn’t see it coming. When Levi landed a fairly powerful slap onto the back of his head, Eren groaned and instinctively went to cover his nape, crouching forward a little because of the mild pain.

“Goddamnit, brat. I didn’t take you here to fuck you!” Levi shouted, perhaps a little too high-pitched.

Eren slowly turned around again to look at him with a little pout.

“You didn’t?”

“Hell, no.”

“Rude,” Eren muttered.

Levi sighed and nudged him towards the bed with gentle hands, so much in contrast with the harsh slap he’d administered him only a few seconds prior.

“Even if I wanted to… it’s inappropriate,” Levi suddenly said, when Eren sat down on the bed and clumsily started to wiggle out of his jeans. He gave up halfway and threw himself back on the bed, huffing. The mattress was so comfortable, he swore he could’ve fallen asleep right there and then. He suddenly felt two hands pulling his trousers down, not with a good dose of struggle and a lot of under-breath curses.

“I swear to god, who wears jeans this tight…” 

“They make my legs look nice,” Eren murmured with his eyes closed, as he started to doze off. He suddenly felt like he could pass out so easily. Such a nice bed…

A soft hum and a _“Can’t argue with that”_ were the last things Eren heard before the world went dark.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So my country might go on a second lockdown soon so, yay. Fun times ahead. 
> 
> Anyways, my creative flow is back so updates shouldn't be a problem. 
> 
> I'm not sure I wrote drunk Eren as well as I wanted to. I was trying to portray how it feels to be drunk and make dumb decisions and talking shit... at least, that's me when I drink. Hopefully I did a half-decent job at that.
> 
> As always, please kudos this fic and leave comments, as I love hearing your feedback. xx
> 
> Have a great day, lovelies.


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